LEWIS FOUNDATION GRANT PROGRAM Lewis College of Nursing & Health Professions Application Deadline: March 1, 2018 PURPOSE & GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT AWARD The purpose of the Lewis Foundation Grant is to promote the scholarly and research activity of faculty and to foster academic excellence within the University. This award specifically aims to promote new scholarly, research initiatives from Lewis College faculty. AMOUNT AND TIME FRAME OF AWARD Lewis Foundation Grants are limited to a maximum of $10,000. Application deadline is March 1, 2018. Awardee will be notified on April 1, 2018. Funding will begin May 1 and must be expended within a 24 month budget period of the award. GENERAL ELIGIBILITY PI eligibility The Lewis Foundation Grant funds are available to full-time, tenure-track faculty (not available to instructors, full-time research professionals, or non-tenure track faculty) in any academic discipline at Georgia State University. Faculty members may only receive one Lewis Foundation Grant during a four-year period. Moreover, while faculty applicants may apply to more than one internal grant program during a given fiscal year (Lewis Foundation Grant and Intramural Seed Grants) they may receive only one of these awards in a fiscal year. Type of proposal Proposals must be for starting up new scholarly, research or creative initiatives. These include projects from early career faculty (i.e. new investigators) who have not previously received funding for the work outlined in their proposal. If the proposal is from a more senior faculty, the work outlined in the proposal must include a compelling written justification for why it is considered a new initiative for this investigator. Moreover, a more senior faculty should be able to show that they have not received funding for work similar to that outlined in the proposal over their career (whether at Georgia State or elsewhere). Finally, these internal grant awards are not intended to be used as bridge funds or to fund ongoing scholarly or research initiatives. FACULTY MENTOR OPTION Early career faculty applying for a Lewis Foundation grant may choose to add a faculty mentor (internal or external to GSU), who will provide specific mentorship to the Principal Investigator and project. Faculty applying for a mentor option cannot be tenured and should not already have a strong record of external funding for their research, if applicable. A strong justification needs to be provided to outline the role of the mentor and specific tasks to be completed that go above and beyond the 1
mentoring expected by senior faculty as part of their typical duties and service to the university and their departments. Mentors are expected to have a record of external funding for their own research, if applicable, and to provide at least very basic guidance and feedback to the mentee faculty in the form of reviewing and proofing documents related to the project (e.g. project plan, manuscript proofs, grant proposal proofs, etc.). In addition, mentors are expected to be available to the mentee faculty on a regular basis decided and agreed upon between the mentor and mentee and described in this application. For the mentor s contribution to the project, PIs may request up to $3,000 in funds (to be taken from the $10,000 total budget) to compensate the mentor for their effort. These funds may be used towards mentor salary, supplies, travel, or any other type of expense that is considered allowable to pay with state funds. GENERAL CONDITIONS OF AWARDS Timeline All activities covered under this award mechanism must be completed within 24 months of funding start date. Failure to complete the project and expend funds in a manner that fits within this 24 month budget period may result in the cancellation of the award at such a time deemed appropriate by the Office for Research in collaboration with the Principal Investigator. Compliance with federal, state and university regulations Principal Investigators (PIs) are responsible for ensuring that activities conducted under the program are in compliance with all applicable federal, state and university policies. Upon receiving a Notice of Award for a Lewis Foundation award, the PI is responsible for submitting all compliance protocols required for their project (e.g. use of human subjects, use of animal subjects, use of radioactivity, bio-hazardous or hazardous materials) and receiving official compliance approval before they can be given access to the funds and begin work on their project under the award. A prolonged delay in obtaining appropriate compliance approvals that significantly delays the work on the project may result in cancellation of the award at such a time deemed appropriate by the Office for Research in collaboration with the Principal Investigator, if it is determined that the project cannot be completed within the time remaining on the award budget period. Progress and final reporting All Lewis Foundation awards will require the submission of a brief project progress report six months after the start date, a brief budget report 3-4 months prior to the end of the award and a final report within 90 days after the end of the award. Continued access to awarded funds will be contingent upon timely submission of a satisfactory report of progress on the awarded project. Future access to other internal grant awards will be contingent upon timely submission of final reports. Project completion and outcomes Awardees are expected to complete the project as proposed or, if the scope of work changes during the project period, the awardee must submit a revised Scope of Work to the Office for Research for approval within 6 months of the end of the project period. Future access to other internal grant awards will be contingent upon successful completion of the proposed work and the outcomes specified in the proposal. 2
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS Because proposals are evaluated by an interdisciplinary peer review panel, they should be written to be understood by faculty who are not in the applicant s field of study or experts in the applicant s field of study. Applicants should limit their use of jargon and acronyms whenever possible. Applications should directly address the review and award criteria described below. Access to application forms Applications for this internal grant must be submitted to Lynn Rhodes (lynnrhodes@gsu.edu). Drafting and submitting the application The application will be routed to the research committee consisting of the following: 1. Dr. Andrew Butler (andrewbutler@gsu.edu) 2. Dr. Kinsuk Maitra (kmaitra@gsu.edu) 3. Dr. Regina Spratling (rspratling@gsu.edu) 4. Dr. Liang-Ching Tsai (ltsai@gsu.edu) 5. Dr. Desiree Wanders (Dwanders@gsu.edu) The Applicant will be notified by email that the application has been submitted for review. Formatting of application 1. Cover Page: The Cover Page includes relevant information about the application and the applicant. This page should be completed and attached to the main body of the application. 2. Compliance approvals: PIs on proposals for work that uses human subjects, non-human animal subjects, bio-hazardous agents, recombinant DNA molecules, ionizing radiation, and/or biologically-derived toxins must obtain the appropriate approval(s) before funding will be made available. If approval is pending at the time of application, approval must be obtained by July 1 st. Failure to obtain appropriate approval within a reasonable amount of time after the start of the budget period is grounds for withdrawing support for an award. Note that it can take up to 8 weeks to complete the compliance approval process so awardees should begin the process by the end of April prior to the start of the award. 3 3. The main text of proposal. This part of the application must be prepared using 12 point Arial or Times New Roman font with one (1) inch margins on all sides. The main text should include the following sections with the following section titles: a. Abstract (no more than one-half page, single-spaced): This summary should include a statement of the main question being addressed by the project, the primary aims or objectives of the project, the significance or potential impact of the proposed project, and a statement or two about the general methods to be employed. b. Project Description (no more than four pages, single-spaced): This section should outline briefly the past work in the area (i.e., theoretical and empirical work, including the applicant s own work) as a framework for discussing why
the work outlined in the proposal is important. The project description should also include the specific aims or objectives for the proposed project and provide a clear, detailed account of the project design and methodology. Applicants who are not new investigators (as defined under eligibility) should provide compelling justification of how the proposed project is a new initiative for them in this section. A reference list should be included (if appropriate), but references are not subject to the page limitations. c. For Resubmissions Only (no more than one additional page, singlespaced): If your application is a resubmission from the previous year, you must address the primary concerns of the reviewers provided in the reviewer comments. In this section, list each concern from previous reviewers and describe how each has been addressed. Note that previous reviews will be included in the review of resubmitted applications. This section should be added to or weaved into the Project Description and is allowed up to one additional page (five-page, single spaced total). d. For Mentored Applications Only (no more than one-half page, singlespaced): Provide a brief description of the commitment that the mentor will make to this project and to the applicant over the life of the project including % effort they plan to devote and what exactly they will be doing to support the applicant and project. As mentioned above, the mentor should provide commitment above and beyond the expected reading and reviewing of the applicant s work. Some examples might include mentoring the applicant in the art of managing sponsored projects and people, grantwriting skills, actively collaborating on the project, etc. If the mentor will be getting some of the awarded funds, that will need to be itemized in the budget (see below). In addition, a current C.V. or biosketch of the mentor should be appended to the end of the application (using any standard format). e. Potential Impact of Project and Plans to Obtain Obtaining Extramural Support (no more than one page, single-spaced): Describe the potential impact of the proposed research to the field of work or to human quality of life in general, and describe specific plans to obtain extramural support for this work. Include the types of funding to be sought based on the results of the project (i.e. sponsoring agency, specific program announcement, and approximate deadlines if information is available). f. Status Reports from Prior Internal Awards: Provide a status report listing the accomplishments seeded by any internal award funded through the Office for Research internal grant program within the last five years (seeded by means would not have been possible without ) These include publications (e.g. books, book chapters, journal articles, etc.) that are IN PRINT and that resulted in any part from work completed under an internal grant award, any external funding applied for and external funding obtained as a result of work completed under an internal grant award, and any major professional accomplishment or product (e.g. art installation, musical composition, major award for PI, etc.) that resulted from work completed under an internal grant award. Applicants who have been funded in the past by the Office for Research s internal grant program where external funds were outlined as a goal are expected to have applied for such funding. g. Applicant s NIH biosketch 4
a. Complete each section (A - Personal Statement; B Positions and Honors; C Contributions to Science; D Research Support or Scholastic Performance) b. Include no more than 5 contributions to science with no more than 4 citations per contribution c. Ensure that if you include the optional link to a full list of your published work in a site like My Bibliography that the URL is public, accessible without providing any login or personal information, and doesn t link to websites that may violate page limit rules d. Refrain from including information, such as preliminary data, that belongs elsewhere in the application e. Follow NIH guidance on font type, font size, paper size, and margins f. Limit the length of your biosketch to 5 pages or less h. Budget: The total budget cannot exceed $10,000 for 2 years of support. A budget format is included in these guidelines for instructional purposes. When including a Mentor option, the Mentor s portion of the budget must be included in the $10,000 maximum budget allowed. i. Salaries and Personnel Effort: Any portion of salary being paid from an internal grant budget must clearly specify the name of the person (if current employee) or title for the position being paid, the base salary for that position, and total salary being budgeted for project. Budget must specify how much to allocate to specific summer months (July of initial year, May and/or June of following year) NOTE: Summer salary requests must include a strong, written justification (see budget justification below). DO NOT INCLUDE FRINGE BENEFITS IN BUDGET. Fringe benefits are paid from another source and will not need to come from your internal grant budget. Personnel percent effort for academic year and summer salaries must be included on the budget so that we can make sure effort is in compliance. ii. GRAs, student workers: Support may be requested for graduate research assistants and student assistants as long as they are being paid only for their work on the funded project. GRAs cannot work more than 20 hours (50% effort) on a funded project). iii. Course releases: Support may be requested for ONE course release during the academic year or summer salary, but not for both. Also, please note that for course releases for fall and spring, the PI should only request the actual cost for a replacement instructor and not a percentage of faculty salary as with external grants. Applicants should consult with their chair to determine whether they are allowed to obtain a course release during the academic year and to get the estimated or actual cost of a replacement instructor for the course release. iv. Supplies, travel and other expenses: Support may also be requested for supplies, participant remuneration, equipment, and travel (see details in Budget Justification section below) to engage in research activity. Purchase of food for participants (e.g., for focus groups) is not an allowable expense unless food as material and supply is an integral part of the study, e.g. in some nutrition and dietary studies. This internal grant program should not be used to cover expenses typically funded by departments. Therefore, computers are not an allowable expense except 5
when the research project cannot be accomplished with the typical computer supplied to faculty members. v. Mentor s funding (if applicable): For a mentored application, funds up to $3,000 may be provided to the mentor for any expenses that are allowable on state funds (these funds come under state restrictions), including supplies, salary, professional travel, and anything that the applicant is allowed to cover with these funds is allowable for the mentor, as well. These funds will come from the total award budget (no more than $10,000). h. Budget Justification: A justification must be included for each budget item. All items (including equipment) should be justified in terms of how they will be used in the proposed project. More details are required for travel and the purchase of electronic equipment (e.g. computers, ipads or tablets, etc.) see below. i. Faculty Summer Salary Summer salary requests must include a strong, written justification that specifies the exact nature of the effort that the person will commit to the project during the summer months they will be paid (e.g. 10 hours per week writing grant proposal, 5 hours per week analyzing data, 15 hours per week collecting data from archives, etc.). If a summer salary justification is deemed not adequate, applicants may be asked for a revision or the requested amount may be reduced, if awarded. ii. Travel that is required to conduct research is eligible for funding (not to be used for travel for professional development or to professional conferences to present work). Air and train travel must be calculated on the basis of economy rates. Estimated costs for food and lodging must be reasonable, and charges to grant funds for these items must be based on University regulations. Mileage must be figured at no more than the approved University mileage rate. Travel expenses to attend or present at a professional meeting or conference will not be funded unless there is a specific justification provided in the Budget Justification that directly relates to the completion of the project. Funding for conference travel to present results of the project is not a sufficient rationale. Justification of travel should include the following points (when appropriate): a. Where the proposed trip fits within the overall plan and the importance of the project; b. The reasons for the choice of the specific location. If the travel is to access a specific resources (e.g. a special piece of equipment, an archive or collection, a repository of information, etc.), describe the need to access the unique resource and why it must be accessed in person rather than via other methods (online, loan, etc.). c. Evidence of competence in the special areas required to utilize the equipment or collection. iii. If an applicant is requesting support for travel to access a specific resource, a letter or other appropriate documentation from the institution where the work will take place, signed by the director, archivist, curator, or other responsible official, indicating their agreement to provide access should be provided. The documentation should indicate that the specific resource the applicant wishes to utilize is accessible and will be made 6
iv. available to the applicant during the period requested in the application. A published statement indicating that the specific laboratory or collection will be accessible to researchers during the period requested may be substituted for the letter or documentation. To purchase electronic equipment, particularly computers, ipads or tablets, the justification must address how the equipment will be used, why the project cannot be completed without this equipment and assurance that this equipment will be designated solely for the project for the life of the award. Electronic equipment should be purchased within the first 6 months of the project. 7 i. Letters of cooperation. If the project depends on collaboration or cooperation of others, a letter of cooperation may be included. However, general letters of support from chairs or colleagues should not be included in the application. j. Appendices. Appendices are only to be used for C.V.s, biosketches, or other required information that is to be attached to the main content. Appendices cannot be used to provide additional information about the main content of the proposal (e.g. details on methodology, etc.). Submission of application Creating a single PDF file from multiple documents for submission (if you need to combine your main text, C.V.s, etc.): 1. Creating a single PDF file from multiple documents requires Adobe Acrobat standard or professional (not the same as Adobe Acrobat Reader). 2. Once you have all your Word and/or PDF files to be merged, open Adobe Acrobat and click on Create PDF in the toolbar on the main screen. If this tool is not visible, click on View Task Buttons Show All Task Buttons. 3. A window will pop up. Under Add Files area click Browse to locate and add PDF files to this compilation. You should add them in the order you wish them to appear. 4. Once you have selected all the files to be added in the order you want them to merge, click OK. 5. This creates the new merged PDF file and you will need to save it with a new name by clicking on File Save As and entering the new name for this file. Make sure you note where you are saving it on your computer (e.g. desktop, documents, etc.) A PDF file with all of the application items in the order listed above should sent to Lynn Rhodes (lynnrhodes@gsu.edu). Late applications will not be accepted. Applicants will be notified by email that the application was successfully submitted. REVIEW PROCEDURES The Office for Research awards funding to proposals based on the recommendations of the Lewis College Research Committee. This interdisciplinary committee is composed of faculty scholars from across nursing and health professions who may or may not match the applicant s field of expertise. This should always be kept in mind when crafting the language in an internal grant proposal. Reviewers use the review criteria detailed below to evaluate and assign a single, global score for each
application. Reviewer comments will be sent to all applicants at the time Notice of Awards are sent. Review and Award Criteria 1. Does the applicant clearly express the significance (merit) of this project? 2. Does the applicant explain adequately the potential impact the project might have within the field of study? 3. Are the hypothesis or research questions, artistic aims or creative processes clearly explained and is/are the primary goal/s of the project (e.g. specific aims, main outcomes, etc.) communicated with clarity? 4. Are the methods and measures to be used in the project clearly described and appropriate for achieving the primary goals or objectives? 5. Does the applicant provide a strong case that this project has good potential for future external funding based on the plans laid out in the proposal (this should be judged in the context of the availability of funding in the applicant s discipline)? 6. For applicants who are more senior at Georgia State University, does the applicant provide a strong case that the proposed work is a new initiative for the applicant? 7. For resubmissions only: Does the applicant address previous reviewer concerns adequately? 8. Is the timeline for completion of the project feasible (e.g. can the proposed project be completed within the 2-year budget period)? 9. Applicants who have received Internal Grant Program funding in the past are expected to have applied for external funding (in disciplines where appropriate). If this applicant has received internal grant funding before, do they provide adequate information that they applied for external funding from previous internal grant projects? 10.Does the applicant show an adequate track-record of conducting work in the field in which their proposed project falls unless the proposal is a new initiative for senior faculty applicants? 11.Does the application include appropriate letters of cooperation from collaborators or organizations providing key resources? OTHER INFORMATION Further information about the Lewis Foundation Grant described in this announcement may be obtained by contacting: Andrew J. Butler Ph.D, PT, FAHA Associate Dean for Research & Professor 8
Acting Chair, Department of Physical Therapy Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions Email: andrewbutler@gsu.edu Phone: 404-413-1415 Lewis College Foundation Grant APPLICATION BUDGET FORMAT Note: This is simply a guideline on what to include in your budget page for this proposal. Budget cannot contain both course release and summer salary. Also, do not include fringe benefits on this budget (those come from a separate budget are not included in the award total). For Mentored proposals, please note which items listed are allocated to the mentor s portion of the funding. Budget Item Faculty academic year salary (list and calculate for each faculty included) DO NOT INCLUDE FRINGE Faculty summer salary (list and calculate for each faculty included; note which months to pay and how much each month e.g. July 2018, Maymester, June 2018) DO NOT INCLUDE FRINGE Staff salary (list individual staff positions and amount to pay each person listed) DO NOT INCLUDE FRINGE Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs) Cannot exceed 20 hrs/wk or 50% effort (list each individual and amount to pay each person listed) DO NOT INCLUDE FRINGE Student Assistants (list requested stipend for each individual) NO FRINGE ALLOWED One course release at cost for replacement instructor (not to exceed 10% of 9-month base salary). Cannot request summer salary and course release for the same faculty Equipment (itemize) Amount Requested Percent effort: Base salary: Total requested: Percent effort: Base salary: Total requested: Percent effort: Base salary: Total requested: Percent effort: Max monthly or semester salary: Total requested: Total stipend requested: Total requested cost for replacement instructor: 9
1 Travel (location, dates and amount for each trip and itemize) 2 Participant Support costs (itemize) 3 Other Direct costs including supplies (itemize) PROJECT TOTAL BUDGET $ 1 Travel expenses must be itemized and each item should be justified in the budget narrative. 2 Participant support costs may include payment on behalf of human subjects to participate in activities, but not as incentives for participation as a research subject (see human subjects remuneration under Other Direct costs) 3 Other Direct costs may include, general supplies and materials, consultants, computer software, publication costs, rental costs, sub-award costs, human subjects remuneration, etc. 10
LEWIS FOUNDATION GRANT Lewis College of Nursing & Health Professions COVER PAGE Title of Project: Is this a resubmission? No Yes Principal Investigator(s): Primary PI s title(s) check one: Professor Associate Professor Asst Professor Is primary PI tenured? No Yes Department(s): Telephone #(s): Email address(es): Name and Title of Mentor (if applicable): Department of Mentor: Email of Mentor: Name of Dept. Grants Officer: Telephone #: Email: Total Amount Requested: $ NOTE: Please note compliance status as pending if approval has not been received (even if the PI has not yet applied for approval). Are human subjects involved? No Yes Pending or IRB# Are vertebrate animals involved? No Yes Pending or IACUC# Are bio-hazardous agents, recombinant DNA molecules, and/or biologically-derived toxins involved? No Yes Pending or IBC# Are hazardous chemicals involved? No Yes (if yes, training must be completed) Is ionizing radiation involved? No Yes (if yes, training must be completed) 11
Signature of Principal Investigator: Date: Date: 12